When cruise passengers are injured during cruises and require legal representation, the chances are that they will require a lawyer in South Florida. Most cruise lines are based in either Miami or Fort Lauderdale. These cruise lines include "forum selection" clauses in the passenger tickets which require that the passenger's lawsuit must be filed in Florida.

So if the accident occurs on a cruise ship operated by Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian, Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, or Silversea cruise line, the passenger will have to find a lawyer here in Miami or Fort Lauderdale. This is true regardless of where the passengers live, where they boarded the cruise ship, where the cruise ship is going, or where the accident occurs.

Many passengers searching for a lawyer on Google or Yahoo run across listings for a "cruise ship accident lawyer" or "cruise ship injury attorney." There are many lawyers who list themselves as "cruise ship lawyers" but they actually have no education, training, or experience handling maritime cases in general or cruise line cases in particular.

Our firm handles cases only against cruise lines. We know how the cruise lines defend cases involving injured passengers and crewmembers. When considering hiring a lawyer to represent you or your family, ask the lawyer some basic questions (our answers follow):

Are you a member of any maritime law societies? Yes. I am a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States (since 1984), the Admiralty Law Section of the American Association for Justice, Florida Admiralty Trial Lawyers Association, and Southeast Admiralty Law Institute.

Have you handled cases against cruise lines before, and how many? Yes. Over 500, in the last 10 years alone. We routinely handle cases against Carnival, Celebrity, Costa, Disney (Magical Cruise Company), Holland American Line, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Regent Seven Seas, and Silversea.

Have you or your clients appeared before U.S. Congress regarding issues of cruise ship safety? Yes. We have attended five Congressional hearings in Washington D.C. with six clients regarding issues of cruise line safety issues.

Do you handle only maritime cases? Yes. We handle only maritime cases involving accidents and injuries on cruise ships. We have handled high profile cases involving cruise ship fires, collisions, and sinkings.

The cases typically involve a cruise passenger slipping and breaking an ankle, knee, or hip on the cruise ship, an injury during a shore excursion, a passenger who is sexually assaulted during the cruise, or a crewmember who is injured during work. Most cases where passengers and crewmembers are injured also involve issues of delayed or inappropriate medical treatment.

Have you or your clients been featured in newspapers, documentaries, or on television news programs? Yes. Over 100 newspaper articles, law journals, and television programs have featured our firm and/or our cruise passenger clients.

Who are your clients? Cruise passengers and crewmembers. Most of our passenger clients are former cruise fanatics. After being involved in an accident, they feel mistreated or neglected by the cruise staff and are often ignored once they return home from the cruise. Most cases are not high profile cases, but simply involve an accident and questionable medical treatment on the cruise ship or in the port of call.

Our cruise passenger clients come literally from all fifty states in the U.S. Our crew clients contact us from around the world.

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Comments (1)Read through and enter the discussion with the form at the end

Robert Bonadonna -
March 24, 2010 2:24 PM

MY wife and I each got sick on different days on the Celebrity Mercury which left Charleston on March 8th. We missed all but one ort of call because of the sickness. This was the 3rd consecutive trip that Celebrity Mercury had with outbreaks of sickness.
Do we have any recourse against the cruise line?

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"Everything the cruise lines don't want you to know" is the motto of this award winning maritime law blog authoredMore...

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